The Power Of Words
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Words can be used to build someone up; but also to tear people down.
1. The News Article

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Ninja Steel._

Though it was better than the alternative, Kelly's space was small. She had gone from having her own room and all the privacy she could want or need, to having to share a bedroom with Hayley. It meant everything about Hayley's bedroom had to be divided up. Hayley's desk was shared space for her and Kelly to do their homework, but the rest of the space around Kelly's futon was hers to do with as she pleased.

It was a very generous sacrifice from Hayley and her family. They had taken Kelly in at a time where she desperately needed a roof over her head. She had always known her parents wouldn't be happy when she came out to them, and knew the day would come when she would have to face that reality.

She just hadn't expected it to be while she was still in high school. And if she was honest with herself, she hadn't expected to be completely kicked out of her home and shunned from her family. She didn't think she would wind up a kid on the streets, seeking shelter wherever she could find it, even in the worst of places.

Fortunately, that latter part wasn't true. Without hesitating Hayley had invited her to stay her parents did the same. Kelly had more here than she could ask for. Still, it left her feeling a little cramped.

"It's temporary," Sarah said from the desk chair as she noticed the uncomfortable look on Kelly's face as she tried to find a spot to dump her school bag where it wouldn't be in the way. "Once we finish high school, we'll figure something out."

It was a lot of we-talk, Kelly noticed, for a couple who only recently crossed the line from dating to girlfriends, but it wasn't too fast. Kelly lost everything when she was outed to her parents. When they made her leave the house, they forced her to choose Sarah over everything she once had. She had to start fresh.

If Kelly didn't already think Sarah would be important to her – if she didn't already care deeply, then it wouldn't have matter to her if her father didn't want her to see Sarah again. She never would have been outed.

They were being forced to think long term. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but Kelly would have to quickly get used to planning her life with Sarah.

"Hey, it's better than nothing," Kelly said jokingly, but she knew full well that was her only other option. Sarah had offered to let her stay with her family, but Kelly had chosen to decline that. She already had a place with Hayley and it was already enough that they were forced to think long term. Kelly didn't want to risk moving way to fast by moving in with her new girlfriend. She wanted to keep things moving as slowly as she could, at least until she and Sarah were more established on their own, as well as together.

"At least the Fosters are pretty sweet," Sarah smiled. "They're cool with us being up here."

"We are just doing homework."

"They don't know that," Sarah smirked, then turned to the computer on the desk. She had a science paper she needed to finish before the end of the week while Kelly was busy working on an English paper. After dinner, they would help each other out the rest of their work. While Sarah contemplated her ideas, she quickly checked her twitter page – just as a quick distraction. There, trending, was Kelly's father's name.

Sarah thought about ignoring it. If Kelly meant nothing to him, then it was best not to bring him up, especially so soon after Kelly was kicked out from her house. However, curiosity got the better of Sarah so while Kelly was caught up in her essay, Sarah clinked on the link.

Kelly's father was a journalist. He had come to Summer Cove hoping to get his big break through the Rangers. There was always something to write about whenever they were in town and if he was lucky, he would catch something ground breaking that no one else had. Maybe he would discover the identity of the Rangers. Sarah wasn't sure what he was hoping for, but knew it had to be along those lines. So when she saw he had written an article she wasn't surprised. It did shock her to see that the article, which had only been posted that morning, was trending nationally. When Sarah read more, she found out why.

Her blood boiled. In his article, he argued that homosexuality was a mental illness and that people who sought same sex relationships were bad. His words exactly:

" _Anyone who choses to date someone of their same gender is perverted and dangerous. We need to stop being politically correct and we need to start taking action before this becomes an even bigger problem than it already has. Kids are being overexposed to pornographic images of men on men and women on women and it's corrupting their beliefs. They think this is okay. Children who are raised right and taught our wholesome and traditional values are straying away from the parents who love them and into the darkness either by the celebrities they worship, the teachers who tell them that this is okay, or their rebellious, good for nothing friends who want to cause as much hurt and as much pain as they can…"_

It went on, Sarah saw. He brought up many arguments to support his claim, none of which made any sense to Sarah.

Worse than all that, though, was the bottom of the page – the comment section. While there was an outcry from people who, like Sarah, believed this all to be a harmful, backwards and disgusting rant, there were just as many people who were in support of it, and praising Kelly's father for finally speaking the _"truth"_.

"Sarah? You okay?" Kelly asked and snapped Sarah from the article. She closed the link and nodded her head.

Kelly couldn't see this. Sarah was sure it was nothing she hadn't heard already from her father, but she couldn't see the detail he included in his statements and she couldn't see the support he received from people all over the country.

"Yeah, fine, just… saw something stupid," Sarah said. "You know, the kind of stupid that makes you wonder about people."

"Like watching Victor and Monty?" Kelly smirked and Sarah nodded her head again.

"Kind of," she picked up her bag. Kelly noticed it looked like Sarah was packing up to leave.

"What about our homework?"

"I can help you with that tomorrow," Sarah promised. "I've just… I forgot something at home and… I can't work on this paper without it."

"What is it?"

"Uh… notes," Sarah said. "I have notes from class and notes from other research and stuff and… yeah, I need it. We'll get together tomorrow, alright?"

"Yeah, sure," Kelly said. "But you owe me a study night."

"Promise," Sarah smiled as she gave Kelly a kiss and then darted off. Kelly rolled her eyes, then looked over to her math textbook. She put it in her bag.

"Guess I'm not even going to bother looking at you until tomorrow," she stated and then looked over to the computer. Sarah had been acting strangely right before she left, and while Kelly didn't think she needed to press it, she was curious. She opened the computer, but Sarah had already closed whatever it was she had been looking at. "Always clear the search history. Clearly she has nothing to hide from her parents," Kelly chuckled to herself as she opened up the history page.

She didn't consider this snooping, but if there was something that Sarah saw that freaked her out or upset her, Kelly wanted to know what she could do to help. She had already decided that if there was nothing out of the ordinary in the history page, she would drop it. However, she saw her father's name as one of the links and decided to open it.

"Great, he's ranting," she sighed. She had heard some of her father's rants about homosexuality already, so this was nothing new. There was, of course, a lot more detail and passion in this article then she had seen, but nothing he said surprised her. They were elaborations of beliefs he had already voiced.

The support he received in the comments section also wasn't surprising to Kelly. Her father always surrounded himself with people who thought like him because anyone else was _"too stupid to be functioning."_ Family friends, co-workers who were invited to dinner, all shared his belief. And since they were often all reporters, politics was not a topic that was off the table.

Kelly had become mostly numb to this. It did still hurt, it was scary, but this was nothing new to her. She did remember how it felt when she was first confronted with it, though. She had sobbed in her room for hours, wishing she had never been born and wishing she had never been cursed with being different. She remembered the fear she felt at just the thought of her parents ever finding out.

It was hell. True hell.

"Dammit, dad," she muttered and shut off the computer. "You just can't leave it well enough alone, can you?"

-Ninja-Steel-

Sarah rushed home. She wasn't sure why, but after reading the article, she felt she had to leave. She didn't think she could concentrate on Kelly while it was all still fresh in her mind and justified that she would be of better help and company to her girlfriend the next day. However, her mood had completely shifted from how she had been with Kelly and she couldn't explain it.

"You're home early," Jenny called out from the kitchen when she saw Sarah coming in. "I thought you were studying with Kelly?"

"Leave me alone," Sarah grumbled and went straight up to her room. Concerned, Jenny followed and knocked on the door.

"Sarah? Is everything okay?" there was no answer. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"People are jerks!" Sarah shouted and the door swung open. Jenny was surprised to see that, despite Sarah's obvious bad mood, she had been let in. She remembered being a teenager and when she felt angry or upset, she wanted distance from everyone, especially her parents.

"Who are we talking about?"

"I mean, this guy just kicked his daughter out of the house, and is now writing a freaking novel saying how he's in the right and he did everything right and he's the victim?"

"Oh," Jenny sighed. She had heard about the article on the news. Apparently, a journalist had taken it upon himself to tackling the issue of homosexuality in a very controversial and hurtful way, and he had gained a lot of support in doing so. Jenny didn't pay any mind to it at the time. She didn't believe him. Only now did it occur to her that she should have paid a little more attention.

"And he's saying something needs to be done about it," Sarah's own rant continued. "Like, somehow, Kelly's the one who hurt him! How? I mean, how can someone think that? She did nothing! He kicked her out! He dragged her out of the house and… If Calvin and Hayley weren't there… Why do people think like this, huh?"

This was a big question, Jenny knew. All why questions from kids were loaded, no matter their age. Jenny's only response was to shrug.

"I don't know."

"And how can people support this?" Sarah asked.

How questions were the same as why. Jenny shrugged again.

"I don't know."

"And if Kelly sees this," Sarah said. "Oh god, after everything's she's already been through, if she sees what her dad has to say about her… He hurts her, he plays the victim and he leaves me to pick up the pieces? She doesn't need this right now!"

"I know," Jenny agreed. "It's not fair."

The doorbell rang. Jenny was happy to excuse herself from the conversation only because it would give Sarah a minute to calm down, and more importantly, it would give Jenny a chance to think about how she wanted to proceed. Telling Sarah what she did and didn't know wasn't going to work for much longer.

When she answered the door, it was Kelly waiting for her. She let the younger woman in, but was quick to tell her, "Now may not be a good time."

"I think Sarah saw something that upset her," Kelly said.

"You know?" Jenny asked. Kelly nodded.

"She left in a bit of a hurry and acting a little weird. I checked what she had been looking at on the computer and found it."

"Are you okay?" Jenny asked.

"It's hard to read," Kelly admitted, "But his point isn't something I haven't already heard. I kind of learned not to let it get to me so much. Is Sarah okay?"

"She's angry," Jenny said.

"I was too the first time," Kelly nodded. "And scared and upset. It's hard."

"The first time?" Jenny asked. She did have to assume that this article wasn't the first time Kelly heard her father speak so poorly of the LGBT community, but she was a little curious as to why Kelly's reaction wasn't similar to or even worse than Sarah's. After all, to Sarah, the man was a stranger – someone whose beliefs didn't matter. To Kelly, this man was her father. He was the man who gave her life and the man who was supposed to love and care for her unconditionally.

"I think it was five years ago," Kelly answered. "It was a bit of a roller coaster for a while, so the actual year is a little fuzzy to me. I just remembered taking it really hard when it happened and I'm sure that's what Sarah's going through now."

"Okay, forgive me but… I really can't follow," Jenny said. "You don't care what your father said?"

"I care," Kelly said with a shrug. "It's just… it's not new to me anymore. Sarah told me that when she came out to you and her dad, you took it really well. The school's a really great place and her friends are all really sweet and supportive and as great as that is, she's been sheltered.

"Sheltered?" Jenny asked not because she doubted Kelly. What the younger woman said did make sense. She was just surprised because sheltered was never a word Jenny imagined being used to describe Sarah. As much as she and Bill had tried to keep her safe, Sarah was always up for adventure, for taking risks and for trying new things. A fearless child was not often one who was sheltered. It was usually the opposite.

"I'm sure you have a lot you want to tell Sarah about this," Kelly said. "But do you mind if maybe I talk with her for a bit? I've been through this before and I really think I can help her get past it."

"Be my guest," Jenny gestured up the stairs. Despite what Kelly believed, she had nothing prepared for Sarah. She probably should have. When Sarah came out to her and Bill, they should have discussed how they would handle something like this if it happened. She was sure if Bill were still around, he would know what to do, but Jenny was lost.

She followed Kelly up the stairs. She didn't know how she could help, but she knew she had to be there.


	2. Media Reports

Sarah felt sick to her stomach.

She knew she shouldn't be doing it. She knew it was best to stay away. It was the advice Kelly had given her when they chatted. As it turned out, Kelly had read the article and she wasn't as upset by it as Sarah would have imagined. In fact, this wasn't the first time she had seen such hate. Kelly already knew how to cope. She knew how to identify the fear, the threat, and what to do with herself to stay safe.

This was new territory for Sarah, and though the pink Ranger often liked exploring new places or ideas, she wasn't comfortable here.

Kelly had talked to her about what they could do for themselves. She had told Sarah that though a lot of people felt they could voice hurtful opinions now, there was still a lot of good things happening in the world. She reminded Sarah that the Fosters, without really knowing her, had taken her in. Kelly reminded Sarah that the whole school supported them. It was a sad fact that while the world was changing and more and more people were loving and supportive, those who weren't made their voices the loudest.

" _You have to drown them out. You have to choose to ignore them. If you don't, that's when they hurt you."_

" _Turn to the people who have your back. They're the ones that matter. They'll be the ones who'll help you when you need it."_

Sarah took those words to heart and sought comfort in her girlfriend, her mother and, eventually, her uncle when he came home from work.

But when night came and Kelly had to leave, everything felt different. Kelly wasn't around anymore, and Jenny and Shane had gone to bed. The dark somehow compelled Sarah to take her IPad and return to the article.

The comment section had grown. Sarah tried to focus on the good – on the people who were calling Kelly's father out for his hate. But for every positive comment it seemed like there were ten more negative ones. Sarah tried to remind herself what Kelly had told her, but even that was starting to fade. It was getting hard to believe she had the world on her side when so many people wanted to erase, hurt and even kill her.

Sarah must have read through thousands of comments. Some good but most were bad. Just when she thought it couldn't get worse, it did. Kelly's father had replied to a comment on his article. He had been asked what made him want to write the article now.

" _I did everything right with my daughter. I raised her Christian and took her to church. I showed her what a good, normal relationship looks like. When I moved to Summer Cove for work, I thought I was making the right decision for my family. I signed my daughter up at Summer Cove High School, one of the best schools in the state! What a load of crap that was! If you live in the Summer Cove area, and you have a child who goes to this school, take them out now! They support all this BLT bullshit! They have a student there, Sarah Thompson, who will turn your daughters. Doesn't matter what you do, she took my Kelly from me. And once she's done with her, I can promise, she'll come after your daughters too."_

Comments that followed were from people in Summer Cove outraged by the school. The comments trickled in at first, and just as Sarah was about to move past it, she saw more and more were coming out. One shocked her more than all the rest.

" _OMG! My son's best friend is Sarah Thompson! What the author is saying is completely true! She's new this year and as soon as she arrived, my son started acting strangely. He's always taking off, he's having a hard time keeping up with his school work and he's whispering more and more around me. He used to always talk about her and I thought maybe they might start dating, but nothing ever happened! Now I'm thinking what if she made him gay?"_

"Preston?" Sarah whispered and shook her head. It couldn't be true. Preston had been completely supportive of her and never once showed any discomfort with her sexuality. Not to mention, the comment wasn't written by him at all, but by one of his parents. Judging by the username, Sarah assumed it was his mother.

" _Not in Summer Cove, but that girl Sarah used to go to my daughter's school. I'm not trying to start anything but my daughter's recently come out as gay too! It can't be a coincidence."_

" _I'm a student at Summer Cove High and I_ _ **know**_ _all this stuff is true. The author's daughter called Sarah out for being a lesbian and just a couple weeks later, they were dating. They hold hands in the hallway and they always eat their lunch together, it's just completely disgusting! What's worse is no one does anything about it. Everyone at my school is so brainwashed!"_

" _Someone should do something about this,"_ Kelly's father wrote in response to all these comments. _"Homosexuality is a disease and it's just going to keep spreading if we don't take matters into our own hands."_

Sarah dropped her IPad, pushed it off the bed and got up. She had been called out by name and now, within the city at least, she was being blamed for this mess. Her head was spinning, she couldn't sleep now.

She made her way down to the kitchen and took out the notepad. She wrote Jenny a quick note saying she had taken her hoverboard for a ride. She knew she would get in trouble for leaving in the middle of the night, but she needed to clear her head and when she was worked up like this, only a ride would help.

-Ninja-Steel-

It was always busy in the Moran-Goodall household in the morning on a weekday. With two working parents, a child in kindergarten and an infant, there was a lot to do in such a short amount of time. Vanessa and Claire had gotten used to the usual chaos, but today, they also had to add two grandchildren, one of whom was sick.

"Joe threw up again," Claire called out to Vanessa as she scooped the young boy out of his seat and carried him off the bathroom to wash up. Vanessa had to rush into the kitchen, carrying her son on her hip so she could keep an eye on the other two.

"There's clean clothes in the machine," Vanessa said to her wife, then frowned when she saw Ciara's plate was still full. "Cece…"

"I no like this," Ciara protested and pushed the plate away. Gia had warned her and Claire that Ciara was becoming a picky eater. Unless it was colourful or obviously candy, Ciara would refuse to eat it.

"Honey, you do," Vanessa said. "It's toast and peanut butter. You love it."

"I want sprinkles."

"It's breakfast," Vanessa said. "Either you eat what grandma made you, or you're not eating."

"Not eating," Ciara chose, so Vanessa took the plate away and placed it on the counter.

"I ate all my food, mommy," Ryan said and showed Vanessa her cleaned off plate. Vanessa smiled, but didn't have time to do much more than that before her son started wailing. Since Joe had been sick for a couple of days now, Vanessa was worried he has passed the germs onto Dylan, who had been fussy all morning.

"Shh, shh, you're okay," Vanessa sighed and in this moment, she wondered what had compelled her to agree to babysit her two grandkids for the night. She and Claire were already older mothers with two young children. They had their hands full without adding two more to the group. Not to mention, with Joe getting sick, they were behind schedule. They didn't have time to drop Dylan and Ciara off at Day-Care, take Joe to the Silver Guardian's HQ so Emma could take him home, take Ryan to kindergarten, and get to work on time.

"I'm taking the day off," Claire announced when she walked into the kitchen with Joe nestled into her chest. Vanessa let out a sigh of relief to hear this. All her problems were just solved.

"You're a mind reader," she said.

"Joe's still got a fever," Claire said "And I can hear Dylan from the bathroom."

"He's a little warm," Vanessa nodded and passed the young boy off to his mother. She looked to Ryan, "Wash up, sweetheart. I'm driving you to school today."

"I'm worried Dylan got whatever Joe's got. I don't think we can take him to Day-Care," Claire explained. "I'll keep Ciara too."

"She's not watching TV until she eats breakfast," Vanessa said. "I'll call at lunch to see how it's going."

"I love you," Claire smiled and walked with Vanessa to the door. Ryan joined them, slipped on her shoes, then strapped on her backpack and headed out with her mother.

"I love you too," Vanessa called as she rushed out the door. Claire watched them get into the car, then glanced to Ciara at the table.

"So, little miss, I hear you're not eating."

"Nope," Ciara shook her head. She knew she wasn't allowed to leave the table until she was excused and she was waiting for her grandmother to let her go.

"Well, that's too bad," Claire said. She moved Ciara's toast from the counter to the table, "You need a healthy breakfast. Once you're done, you can come sit with me in front of the TV."

"I watch TV now," Ciara argued but Claire walked away. With her son and grandson both a little under the weather she knew they needed rest. She brought Dylan to his room and set him down gently in his crib. She had to leave him to cry for a moment while she brought Joe to bed. He was already sleepy, so once Claire got him in his pyjamas, he quickly fell asleep. She returned to Dylan's room and soothed him until he too was sleeping.

Claire walked back downstairs and looked to the kitchen. Ciara was still at the table and was glaring at her breakfast. Claire chuckled as she shook her head and made her way to the living room. She turned on the TV and intentionally raised the volume so Ciara could hear it. Usually, this would convince her to eat her meal.

She didn't turn on cartoons. Ciara, just like her mother, was smart. If the cartoons were already playing, she was content with just listening and would sit in protest at the table until one of her parents or her grandmothers gave up. So instead, Claire had on the news, leaving Ciara with the promise that she would change the channel once she ate.

The news was no different from the night before. A journalist had written an online article hating on the LGBT community which had generated a lot of attention. Claire could only roll her eyes and shake her head.

"When will everyone just grow up," she said. Not wanting Ciara to hear about all the hate, she changed the channel.

Ciara eventually did eat her breakfast and got to join her grandmother on the couch for some early morning cartoons. A couple hours later, Joe and Dylan were awake and since they seemed to be doing better, Claire let them play with Ciara while she took care of the dishes in the kitchen. Since cartoons had still taken over the living room, Claire decided to check the news through her phone.

She had to check the news every couple of hours. With a daughter and son-in-law in law enforcement, she needed to know what was happening in the area. As long as there was no breaking news, or no mention of an officer being injured or killed, there was usually nothing to worry about.

Seeing there was a new posting involving the Silver Guardians did have Claire worried so she continued reading. Though she probably shouldn't, she felt relieved when she saw that the Silver Guardians had only found someone injured. They weren't injured themselves.

"I'm not raising four kids at this age," she said. "Those two better be safe."

As she finished drying the dishes, she brought her phone back to the living room so she could watch Joe, Dylan and Ciara. When she walked into the room, she noticed the channel on the TV had been changed, as Dylan was chewing on the remote and somehow managed to go back to Claire's last channel.

"Why they hurt her?" Ciara asked as Claire took the remote from Dylan. She looked to the TV to see what was going on and saw the reporter was still covering the injured person found by the Silver Guardians.

"I don't know, sweetie," Claire said. She was about to change the channel when Jordan appeared on the screen. He was being interviewed by a reporter.

"Jordo!" Ciara cried out happily and then turned to Joe. "Joe, Jordo on TV!"

Joe looked to the TV and smiled brightly when he saw his father. He walked over to the couch and sat down, eager to watch as his father was interviewed by the reporter. Claire kept the channel on. The kids hadn't seen Jordan in a couple of days and she knew they both missed him.

"We're taking this attack seriously," Claire heard Jordan say. "Without going into too much detail, we do have reason to believe this was a hate crime. Once we find out more information, you can be sure that the Silver Guardians will be following through with the case and there will be charges."

"Do you have any idea who could be behind this?" the reporter asked.

"That will be part of our investigation," Jordan stated and was then called by Gia. The camera turned to her as she stood in the back of an ambulance. Ciara started to bounce excitedly when she saw her mother.

"Take the truck!" Gia was heard saying and Jordan informed the reporter he had to leave. The segment ended there and Claire assumed this was a good time to go back to cartoons.

"Mama and daddy won't be on again," Claire assured the kids when they complained. "But do either of you want to help me make lunch?"

"Candy!" Ciara called out and Claire sighed.

"No candy. I was thinking grilled cheese."


	3. Victim Interview

This was the part of the job Gia hated the most. She didn't like questioning the victims and pushing them to try and remember as much as possible. She didn't like making them uncomfortable, especially when there was no doubt that they were the victim.

Unfortunately, it needed to be done. A crime had been committed and the only witness was the victim.

She brought Sarah a cup of water and took a seat in the chair next to her bed. Fortunately, the hospital visit was protocol. While Sarah was injured, nothing seemed life threatening. She just needed to be cleared by a doctor and have her step-mother arrive to pick her up before she could be released. However, since the injuries weren't self-inflicted, and Sarah had been found in tears, Gia knew an investigation needed to happen.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Sarah took the water, sipped it, then shrugged.

"I guess."

"What were you doing out so early?" Gia asked. "Schools don't start for another couple of hours."

"I've been out all night," Sarah said. "Couldn't sleep."

"Did your mom know you were out?"

"I left a note," Sarah answered. She hadn't looked to Gia once. Her eyes were fixed on the cup of water.

"Why did you leave in the middle of the night, then?" Gia asked. She hated questioning a victim about their actions, especially when it involved victims of any kind of abuse. Nothing justified being hurt. However, Sarah's answers would help establish a timeline and would help to clear her of wrong-doing, assuming she had been attacked unprovoked.

"Do I have to say?"

"No," Gia answered honestly. "But it'll help. I'm on your side."

"Have you heard about the news article?" Sarah asked.

"There are a lot of news articles," Gia said. "You'll need to be specific."

"The homophobic one," Sarah said and Gia nodded her head. "My girlfriend's dad wrote that."

For Gia, that was all Sarah would have to say. She now had a suspect to question and she could leave Sarah alone. Unfortunately, for the paperwork, she would need more.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "How did it make you feel?"

"I don't know," Sarah said. She leaned back in the bed and rubbed her bruise. She was lucky that she only had the one, though it did cause her a lot of pain and had led to the headache that was slowly torturing her. "Angry, I guess."

"Angry?" this was why Gia had always been told to completely question the victim. Sometimes, they did go looking for trouble. It wasn't often, but it did happen.

"I didn't like what he said," Sarah explained. "I guess it upset me."

"What did you do after you read it?"

"I went home. I was with my girlfriend at my friend's house. She was kicked out when her dad found out she was dating me, which led to the article, I guess. I started ranting to my step-mother and then my girlfriend showed up. She calmed me down, I guess."

"How did you feel when you left the house?" Gia asked.

"I don't know," Sarah said. "I know I probably shouldn't have, but I read the article again and I was looking at the comments. Kelly's dad mentioned me in one of them and… I guess I kind of freaked out. He claimed I turned his daughter. Someone else from my old school blamed me because her daughter was a lesbian. Even my best friend's mom bought into all this stuff. It really felt like everything had suddenly… shattered, I guess."

"So you weren't in the best state of mind, then?"

"No," Sarah admitted, "But that's why I went out. I have a hoverboard, you know and when I ride it, it doesn't matter what's going on. I just feel better. So I went out, even though I know it wasn't the best idea, to go for a ride. I didn't think I'd be out too long."

"What happened while you were out?"

"My hoverboard requires a charge," Sarah said. "Usually if it charges all night, it'll last all day. I guess since this was a midnight ride, the charge died. I got an alert on my watch but I was too far to get home so I jumped off and started to walk back. There were some guys, seniors from my school, so I don't know them all that well, that were out on the streets."

"Do you know what they looked like?"

"Tall, both with dark hair," Sarah said. "I'd recognize them again if I saw them, but I really can't tell you who they are."

"That's okay. You're doing great," Gia encouraged her. "So after you saw these boys, what happened?"

"They started calling out to me," Sarah said. "You know, cat-calling. It's not the first, and it won't be the last…"

Gia clenched her fists when she heard this. It was the reason she had joined Jordan in his dream of becoming a police officer, and the reason she had accepted the position as Silver Guardian. Sarah was sixteen years old and already numb to being cat-called by older men. Gia was ready to arrest the boys just for that, but she let Sarah continue.

"Then they mentioned the article."

"The one you mentioned earlier?"

Sarah nodded, "They said they could fix me. They said they knew I was the problem and that they would be praised as heroes if they were able to save me."

"Do you know what they meant by this?" Gia asked.

"I guess they were talking about the comments," Sarah shrugged. "How people are blaming me for their kids being gay if I had any contact with them and that if someone is gay, it's a bad thing."

"What did you do while the boys were talking to you?"

"I tried to ignore it," Sarah said. "I mean, it made me angry but I thought it was best not to let them see they were getting to me, but when they kept up, I kind of lost it. I told them to leave me alone. I kind of shouted it."

"How did they take it?"

"They weren't happy," Sarah said. "They started calling me names, grabbing me, insisting they could fix me. I tried to tell them to stop but they didn't listen."

"When did you tell them to stop?"

"I told them to leave me alone while they were talking to me," Sarah said. "I asked them to stop when they were grabbing me."

What did you say, exactly?"

"Stop."

"Nothing else."

"Don't touch me," Sarah said and Gia smirked. She had exactly what she needed.

"What did they do when you said that?"

"They didn't stop," Sarah said. "So I hit the one guy."

"You're tough," Gia said. She remembered Sarah from a previous case. She had been kidnapped by a prostitute and her pimp. She had to assume this was the reason Sarah was so open with her now. There was already established trust. It also meant Gia already knew Sarah. She knew how tough the sixteen year old really was. "How hard did you hit?"

"Knocked him on his ass," Sarah said with a bit of a proud smirk. "Then the other guy hit me and… I just lost it."

Sarah then looked to Gia worriedly, "Am I in trouble for that?"

"Self-defense," Gia said. "No judge or lawyer is going to think any differently. You're 110 pounds and there was two of them. You asked them to leave, told them to stop and one guy punched you. You're clear."

Sarah looked relieved, "Even if I kicked their asses?"

"Self-defence protects the winner of the fight too," Gia chuckled. "Just because they got their asses kicked, that doesn't make them victims. It just makes them stupid."

Sarah smiled, "When they saw they couldn't beat me, they took off."

"Why didn't you go for help after that?" Gia asked. "Why didn't you go home?"

"I was worked up," Sarah said. "And after they attacked me it was all real. Nothing was limited to the article anymore. People feel that way here, and I'm in the middle of it. I guess I got scared."

"Have you talked to anyone else?"

"Just you," Sarah said. "You're the next person I saw."

"Keep it that way, alright," Gia smiled. "I'll put everything you said on the paperwork. As long as you're telling the truth, and I'm sure you are, this is going to stick."

"Can you go after Kelly's dad for this?" Sarah asked. "If that article hadn't come out, I don't think those guys would have tried anything."

"What makes you say that?" Gia asked.

"Everything they said made reference to the article," Sarah explained. "And in his comments, he mentioned someone needed to do something to fix the problem. Is that something?"

"I'll look into it," Gia said. "But you don't have to worry, I take down everyone I can, which is usually everyone involved."

"Thank you," Sarah whispered. Gia got up from the chair, then put her hand on Sarah's shoulder.

"I'm not letting this case go," she promised. "My partner and I, we won't sleep until this is over. I want you to know that."

"Okay," Sarah nodded.

"I'm serious. My mothers are watching my kid right now and if it's needed, I'm sure they'll take her for a few extra days," Gia said and was sure to stress the _S_ in the word mothers. She was glad when Sarah noticed and it made her smile. "I guess you can say I take cases like this personally. I'd also really like to bet that despite what you're hearing right now, you really aren't alone."

Gia gave Sarah a little wink, then squeezed her shoulder before leaving. Sarah smiled as she watched Gia go and then leaned back in the bed.


	4. Watch Your Back

Sarah's stay in the hospital wasn't long. Since the doctor had no concerns, Sarah was free to leave to leave as soon as Jenny arrived. As they walked out to the car, Sarah suddenly stopped.

"My hoverboard!"

"What?" Jenny asked. She was a little irritated with her step-daughter in the moment. She had been very angry when she read the note Sarah had left saying she went out in the middle of the night, and when her fears had been confirmed by a phone call from the hospital, Jenny felt her anger boil over. She had snapped at Sarah when she first arrived and now just wanted to get home.

"I forgot about my hoverboard," Sarah said. A part of Jenny didn't care. That hoverboard had been what pushed Sarah to leave the house at night. In the moment, she never wanted to see it again. But she knew what it meant to her daughter and so had to relax a little.

"Where is it?"

"The alleyway," Sarah said. "When Officer Holling showed up, I had forgotten I took it out. We have to pick it up, please?"

"Get in the car," Jenny agreed and as she drove her daughter back home, they stopped at the alley. Sarah hopped out of the car to check for her hoverboard. She remembered exactly where she left it, but it wasn't there. As she began to search the alley a little more, Jenny stepped out of the car and called out to her, "Is it there?"

A kick to the dumpster answered her question, "Someone took it! Dammit!"

"It's what happens when you walk around alone at night," Jenny said, a little too loudly because Sarah heard and looked hurt. Jenny, still upset with her daughter, didn't press the issue. Once Sarah was sure there was no hoverboard in the alley, she got into the car and it was a silent ride home.

Both the driver's and the passenger's doors were slammed shut as Jenny and Sarah got out of the car. Sarah stormed off up to her room while Jenny stormed into the living room. Shane was watching the news, but muted the volume when he heard his sister and niece were home.

"Is she okay?"

"I'm going to kill her," Jenny said. "Life's had three tries, now it's my turn."

"She's sixteen," Shane reminded her. Jenny didn't know when her little brother had become the voice of reason. Maybe it was because he was on the outside looking in. Or, maybe it was because he was a sensei at the Wind Ninja Academy and part of his job required him to be the voice of reason to his students.

That seemed more likely now that Jenny knew the truth.

"Shut up."

"Give the kid a little break," Shane said. "You remember what being sixteen was like."

"I didn't almost get myself killed three times in four months."

"Dad also didn't die, mom wasn't a prostitute and you never dated a girl with a homophobic journalist father," Shane pointed out.

"My husband died."

"I know," Shane nodded. "And that's tough."

"Shane, she went out in the middle of the night."

"Did you ask her why?" Shane said. "I mean, when I snuck out, it was something stupid like skateboarding or saving the world or something."

"She wasn't saving the world. She was riding her hoverboard."

"Has she done that before?" Shane asked.

"No. Not that I know of, at least."

"Well, she left a note," Shane reminded her. "Either that means she would have left notes before, or this was her first time. And, since she left a note, clearly she was trying to be smart, while being stupid."

"Probably, but…"

"And I don't think she tried to scare you again," Shane added. Jenny threw a pillow at his head.

"You really need to stop it," she said.

"I'm here to help," Shane said. "If it makes you feel better, I'd do the same to Sarah."

"I'm still pissed at her."

"Want me to talk to her, then?"

"Maybe you'll get through to her," Jenny nodded and gestured to the stairs. Shane made his way up to Sarah's room and knocked on the door. There was no answer but he walked in anyways.

"Gotta make sure you're still here," he said as his excuse when Sarah seemed to glare at him. "Jenny's pretty upset, you know."

"I don't really care," Sarah huffed. Shane sat down at her desk and looked around at her room. He didn't spend much time here. It hadn't been all that long since he had been a teenager himself (or so, he liked to think it hadn't been long) and he remembered needing a lot of privacy from his parents even before he had been a ninja or a Ranger. Now that he was in Sarah's room, though, he could get a proper look around and see who she really was. As expected, there were a lot of books on the bookshelf, mostly about engineering, and there were some stray tools lying around. While Sarah did most of her inventing in the garage, she liked having tools in her room as well in case she got an idea out of the blue, particularly with her hoverboard.

Her unicorn was still on her bed from when she had been poisoned. She had many medals and ribbons on her wall from school and city science fairs, as well as some athletic medals and trophies.

Around her bed, on the side tables and on her dresser, were pictures of Sarah with many people. There were some friends from her old school, but mostly pictures of Sarah with her dad, pictures of Sarah with her father and Jenny, and pictures of Sarah with the Rangers. The picture closest to her bed was a new one, because there was no frame for it yet. It was a picture of Sarah and Kelly.

"You had to know you were going to piss her off when you left," Shane said.

"I did."

"So why do it," Shane asked.

Sarah shrugged, but Shane wouldn't let her give up there, "Oh, come on, there was a reason. You don't piss off your parents intentionally without a reason."

"I just needed to get out."

"In the middle of the night?" Shane asked. He leaned forward in the chair, "What's going on, kid?"

"Nothing."

"That's bull," Shane shook his head. "Come on, I was just downstairs telling Jenny all the stuff you've been through, reminding her to go a little easy on you. You can't tell me there's nothing going on in that head of yours."

"I…"

"Is it about your mother?" he asked and Sarah shook her head.

"I'm over that."

Shane knew her answer was mostly true, so he pressed forward. "It's okay if you're still grieving your father, you know."

"That's not why," Sarah said.

"So then it's what I think it is," he said. Sarah turned away from him, but her eyes strayed to the picture with Kelly. Shane let out a deep sigh as he made his way over to the bed. "Sarah, it's okay if you're scared."

She shook her head and wiped her eyes. Shane put his arms around her, "It's scary," he said. "When I first heard about the article, I know I was scared. All this hate is coming out and it's not really the passive-do-nothing hate that can be ignored. It's real."

"I didn't do anything wrong," Sarah said. "There's nothing wrong with us."

"You and Kelly?" Shane asked and then he nodded his head. "You're absolutely right about that. Her dad was wrong to point the finger at you. But everyone else in your life…"

"Preston's mom," Sarah whispered and stopped there. Shane leaned in a little closer.

"Huh?"

"One of the comments supporting Kelly's dad was a lady who said I was her son's best friend and now she's worried I turned him gay because I didn't want to date him," Sarah said. "I mean, Preston never asked me out but…"

"You think it's his mom?"

"I know it is," Sarah nodded. "And if Preston's mom can think that way…"

"Preston doesn't."

"But who else does? His mom, those kids at school, and there are more of them. I thought I was safe here! I didn't think I'd have to worry about everyone."

"Sarah, you don't."

"Everyone knows! Everyone thinks this is all on me! I can't go to school anymore without wondering if someone in the halls wants to hurt me. Maybe they're even in my class or a teacher!"

"Sarah…"

"I can't get ice-cream with Kelly anymore because if we bump into the wrong people, I'll have to fight again! We won't be able to go anywhere together except here and Hayley's house! And now I can't even take my fucking hoverboard for a ride because someone took it!"

Since he already had Sarah in his arms, he could feel her muscles were tense. He could feel her body was shaking as she simultaneously tried to hold everything in and let it all out.

"I have to watch my back now because one asshole decided I was a problem!"

"I'll watch your back," Shane said and Sarah scoffed. He nodded, "Sarah, I'm serious."

"I don't want my uncle chaperoning all my dates," she said. "And I don't want to have to stay stuck in two fucking houses just to feel safe."

"I won't be chaperoning all your dates," Shane promised her. "I'm just saying, I'll watch your back for you, whenever I can and whenever you think you need me. That way, you don't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Shane said with a shrug. "I just mean… I can stand up to people like Kelly's dad. I can back you up when you want to fight, or help you get away when you just feel like ignoring it."

"Me too," Jenny said from the door, and Shane and Sarah both looked over and saw she had been listening to some of their conversation at least. "I think we all will."

Jenny walked over to the bed and sat down. She wiped a tear from Sarah's cheek, "Hayley and her parents took your girlfriend in. I think they'll watch both your backs. And Calvin, he's the one who dared you to ask her out in the first place, right?"

Sarah nodded her head, "He's got my back?"

"I'll bet you anything," Jenny smiled. "When you were poisoned, Mick was ready to do anything to help. He took such good care of you. He always does. He's got your back."

"Brody's a good guy," Shane said. "I mean, as a Red Ranger, you know he's got to be. We all are. He'll watch your back."

"Part of what started your crush on Levi Weston was because he was pro LGBT rights," Jenny reminded Sarah.

"And Preston?" Sarah asked. Shane gave her a little squeeze.

"You're not your parents. You know that better than anyone," he said. "He's your best friend for a reason. He's got your back."

"You do whatever you need to do with Kelly," Jenny assured her daughter. "Go out, have fun, be in love, or in like, or whatever you are. We'll take care of the rest."

Sarah gave a smiled and leaned over to hug her mother. Jenny let out a content sigh, mouthed a thank you to her little brother, then gave Sarah a pat on the back.

"However, you can't go be in love tonight because you're grounded."

"What?"

"You only leave the house if the world needs saving," Jenny said. "Otherwise, no friends, no TV and the garage is off limits."

"But…. But…"

"Maybe you'll think of that next time you sneak out," Jenny said.

"I left a note!"

"That's how I know you weren't dragged out against your will," Jenny smirked.

"I need to look around for my hoverboard."

"You can start tomorrow," Jenny said. "And since you're already missing school, you should get to your homework so you don't fall behind."

Sarah's eyes suddenly widened, "Oh shit! I promised Kelly I'd help her with her math…"

"Not my problem," Jenny called out as she left. Sarah turned to Shane. He could only shrug.

"Sorry, kid."

"Dammit!"


	5. Confrontations

Preston couldn't believe the chatter he heard in the hallways of his home. He was sure his parents had no idea he was listening. In such a big house, it was often surprising to run into anyone. Preston could go days without seeing his parents if he wanted.

And right now, he wanted, but he kept close to them. He leaned against the wall and listened to their conversation from just outside the room.

"Look at the facts," his mother said. "More and more of our kids are coming out and saying that their gay or transgender or something crazy like that. And everyone just keeps feeding into it."

"I don't know," his father said. "I've never really gotten that vibe from Preston."

"He's a good boy. But that girl Sarah... Some woman online said her daughter went to Sarah's school and now she's gay. Sarah's own girlfriend called her out for being a fag and a couple of weeks later, she turned her too and now they're dating! It can't be a coincidence."

"You really think she made Preston gay?"

"He needs to stop hanging out with her," his mother insisted. "There's a chance we can save him. If we take him out of school and send him to that private academy you're always talking about, he might be able to see sense and snap out of it."

"I can't say I want to argue sending him to private school," his father said. "But Summer Cove High is still a great school and I really don't think Sarah is…"

"She's leaving a gay trail behind her. Our Preston is a good boy. She would have been lucky to date him."

"I do agree with you there," his father said. "But maybe Preston isn't interested in her."

"He used to talk about her all the time," his mother argued. "Then that suddenly stops, and he's never showing an interest in any other girl. It's got to be because he likes guys."

"Is that the worst thing in the world?"

"Really? You don't think this is bad news?" his mother said. "Our son could be a homosexual and this isn't the worst thing to happen to you?"

"No?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Honey, I just don't see what's so wrong about it," he told her. "I mean, so he likes guys instead of girls. It's not like he's out there beating people up or something."

"She deserved that and you know it," his mother snipped. "You know, a part of me wishes those boys got the better of her. Maybe if they had shown her a good time she'd be cured."

"A good time?" Preston interrupted, announcing his presence as he walked into the room. "What does that mean, mother?"

"Preston, you were listening?"

"What does it mean?"

"Preston, darling, this doesn't concern you," his mother tried to tell him but Preston shook his head. He was mad. He turned to his father.

"Are you serious?"

"Preston, your mother and I are having a serious conversation and…"

"You meant you wanted those guys to rape her!" Preston shouted at his mother.

"Once she knows what she's missing, maybe she'll come to her senses and this lesbian nonsense will stop."

"She's bisexual, mother, and she's not missing anything," Preston frowned. "And you… you're disgusting for thinking like that!"

"I'm only looking out for you…"

"I'm not gay!" Preston said. "And so what if I am? What difference does it make?"

"How will you have children? They won't look like you, they won't…"

"I'll adopt or… I'm not even gay," Preston shook his head.

"Preston, I do believe it's for the best that you stay away from Sarah."

"She's my best friend, mother," Preston growled and then he noticed something from the corner of his eye. He headed to the back corner of the room and pulled off the tarp, revealing what looked an awful lot like Sarah's hoverboard. She had texted him while he had been in school, complaining because Jenny had grounded her and she couldn't go looking for the person who had taken her hoverboard from the alley. He turned to his mother, "Where did you find this?"

"I bought it," he said.

"Sarah would never sell it."

"Sarah isn't the only one who makes hoverboards, darling," his mother tried to explain but Preston knew better. He picked it up.

"Did you take this?"

"I…"

"You knew it was hers!"

"I did not."

"That's the first thing I told you about Sarah!" Preston said. "She rode into school on her hoverboard and actually seemed interested in watching my magic show!"

"Preston…"

"When she picked me up for school a week after we first met, you answered the door and she had her hoverboard. I remembered you were worried I was going to get hurt, but she promised you it was safe."

"I remember no such thing."

"You weren't going to return it, were you?" Preston asked. His parents entertained quite a bit, when whenever a guest left something in their home after they left, his mother always made a big deal about returning it as soon as possible. The fact that she had Sarah's hoverboard covered up in her office, and she hadn't asked Preston to return it as soon as possible made Preston very doubtful.

"Look at what she's done," his mother turned to his father. "She's turned our boy into one of those angry, gay…"

"I'm not gay!" Preston sighed. He glared at his mother, "But I am angry. You apologize for taking this."

"You do not speak to me that way."

"Apologize for taking this, apologize for calling Sarah a lesbian…"

"Well, she is."

"And apologize for saying she should be raped."

"I really think it would teach her a lesson."

"Father!" Preston looked to his dad, but the man could only shrug and he was now forced to choose between his son and his wife. "Great. Perfect."

"Preston," his mother called after him as he started to leave, but Preston slammed the door shut and left the house.

-Ninja-Steel-

It was terrifying, but it needed to be done.

Kelly had heard about Sarah leaving in the middle of the night, and she heard about the attack that followed. In text messages with her girlfriend, Sarah had mentioned that her name was put in the comment section and the boys who attacked her had referenced it many times when they spoke to her. Sarah had said that Kelly's father blamed her for everything, and that in his eyes, she had turned Kelly into a lesbian.

Kelly looked down the driveway at her old house. She was terrified, but she needed to be strong.

"I've got your back," Calvin said and Brody, Levi and Hayley all nodded. "Just say the word pink and we'll get you out of there."

"Pink. Got it," Kelly smiled, then frowned and shook her head, "What if he's angry?"

"That's what we're here for," Brody said. "Just say what you have to say and then leave."

Kelly nodded her head, then with a little nudge from Levi she walked up to the door. She tried her key, just out of curiosity, but saw the locks were changed. She knocked on the door. Her mother answered.

"You…"

"Can we talk?" Kelly asked. Her mother examined her daughter carefully, then looked to the friends she had behind her. She saw Hayley and Calvin holding hands and hoped this would be the talk she had been waiting for since her daughter left. She nodded and invited them inside, calling for Kelly's father to join.

"She wants to talk," she said when he walked into the room. He looked to his daughter angrily but sat down on the other couch.

"You here to apologize?"

"I just want to talk about what happened," Kelly said. "What did I do that was so…"

"We've discussed this at length," her father said. "We do not tolerate that kind of behaviour."

"But I'm not hurting anyone," Kelly frowned. "And you always said as long as nobody gets hurt…"

"You hurt us," her mother said. "We thought we raised you better than that, Kelly. We thought you knew right from wrong, good from bad, boys from girls."

"I do. I'm just… having a little trouble, I guess," Kelly shifted her attention over to her father, "I read your article. You made a lot of… points."

"You read it?" he asked with a little smile. "What did you think?"

"It's well written," Kelly knew she had to flatter her parents a little first, but she couldn't bring herself to agree with them and couldn't say anything nice about the article.

"Thank you."

"Aren't you worried about people who don't agree, though?"

"You mean the people who are wrong?" he asked. "I just like to think I'm on the right side of history, and when all this straightens out, they'll look back on their actions and realize they were fools."

"And you're on the right side of history because…"

"We're preserving traditional values. We're going back to a simpler time," he said. "Back before things like homosexuality, mental illnesses or all this equality nonsense became so popular."

"And… why don't we believe in equality?" Kelly asked. "Why is it bad for everyone to have the same rights as us?"

"They don't deserve it."

"Why?"

"Kelly, it's a lot of questions."

"I know," Kelly answered. "I just… I want to know why we think that way. Maybe if I can understand it better then I can believe it."

"I'd be happy to fill you in," her father said. "Some people are just… better."

"Why?"

"I don't know why, Kelly. Some people just are," he said. "And all isn't lost for you, you know. If you stop hanging out with Sarah, if you put all this lesbian stuff behind you…"

"I'm not putting anything behind me," Kelly shook her head. "Dad, mom, I _am_ a lesbian."

"Why?" her mother asked and Kelly could see her father's temper rising. She was glad she had asked her friends to come along.

"I just am."

"You just aren't," her father argued. "You're making the wrong choice."

"I like Sarah," Kelly said. "I didn't chose it, I just do. She's kind, she's generous, she's…"

"A fag."

"She's the best thing that ever happened to me," Kelly glared at her dad.

"She turned you gay."

"Actually, I realized I was gay long before I met Sarah" Kelly argued. "In fact, I think I kind of always knew it. I just never told you."

"You're a liar."

"Sarah didn't turn me gay," Kelly shook her head. "I want you to take that out of your article."

"No," her father crossed his arms. Kelly was sure there was more he wanted to say, but there was a knock at the door. He sent his wife to get it while he glared angrily at his daughter.

"Mr. Saunders?" a new voice called and Kelly's father, the Rangers, and Kelly saw the Silver Guardians walk in. "I'm Officer Myles and this is Officer Holling. Is this a good time?"

"What is this about?" he asked.

"An article you wrote," Jordan stated.

"I'm in the middle of a conversation with my daughter," he said. "Can this wait?"

"Sure," Gia nodded. "While you finish up, I'll just go through your computer and…"

"I don't give you permission."

Gia flashed a piece of paper. Kelly's father took it and read it over quickly.

"A search warrant?"

"Computer specific," Gia nodded. "But since your wife was kind enough to let us in, and you don't mind letting us stay in your house while you finish talking then…"

"Fine, fine," Kelly's father said as he got up and walked to the kitchen, where Jordan followed with Mrs. Saunders. Gia stayed behind in the living room with the Rangers and Kelly.

"What's this about?" Kelly asked. She hated her father, but she was worried.

"It's part of an investigation," Gia said. "Are you his daughter?"

"Yeah. Is he in trouble?"

"Maybe," Gia nodded and Kelly smiled.

"For the article?"

"Maybe," Gia answered again.

"Good," Kelly said.


	6. Park Magic

"Oh my god!" Sarah squealed when, out of nowhere, Preston made her hoverboard appear. He claimed it was a magic trick, but she knew unless he was tapping into the powers from his Power Star, his magic wasn't really magic. He had to have had her hoverboard hidden the whole time. She didn't care, though, as she launched herself into his arms and hugged him tight. "Where did you find it?"

"That's not important," Preston shook his head. "What's important is you have it back."

"Thank you!"

"I think it needs a charge."

"Yeah. It died on me mid-ride," Sarah nodded.

"You mean mid-midnight-ride," Preston said and Sarah looked to him guiltily. "So, how was grounded life?"

"Painful."

"Were you able to watch the news?"

"No TV, no leaving the house and no garage. Jenny's cruel."

"Could have been worse," Preston said. "Apparently, the Silver Guardians had a chat with Kelly's dad."

"Seriously?"

"They went through his computer."

"Is he in trouble?"

"They can't saw whether his words caused the attack," Preston said. "But in their interview, they did say they found some very vile stuff. He looked scared when he was being questioned."

"Good," Sarah said. "And while I was grounded, Jenny let me use the computer to identify my attackers. I sent that to Gia last night, so hopefully on Monday, they won't be back at school."

"Hopefully we never see them again," Preston said. "So you're okay?"

"I'm alright," Sarah nodded. "Better now that I have this baby back," she lifted her hoverboard with a smile.

"Want to head back to your place and give it a quick charge?" Preston asked but Sarah shook her head.

"I'm sick of my house right now. Let's just hang out. It is a nice day to be at the park. Maybe you could perform a little more magic," Sarah looked over to the playground where some kids were having fun, "Who knows, maybe you could draw a small crowd or…"

"Help!" a woman suddenly cried out and instinctively, Preston and Sarah raced over to see what was going on. The woman held a little girl in her arms and seemed completely clueless. Since there was no one else at the park, Sarah and Preston knew they had to help. "She's choking!" the woman said.

Preston's eyes widened. The girl was so little and he had absolutely no idea how to help anyone when they were choking. Fortunately, Sarah didn't have the same reservations. She took the little girl from the woman's arms and before Preston knew what was happening, the little girl was suddenly screaming.

"Thank you!" the woman said as she took the little girl and tried to sooth her. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem," Sarah said and looked down at the rock in her hand. Fortunately, the girl hadn't swallowed the rock completely and so Sarah had been able to reach into her mouth and pull it out. "I guess we were making some stone soup?"

"God, she won't eat pasta but she'll eat a rock," the woman shook her head. "Thank you again, I… I can't believe I just froze like that."

"I'm just glad we could help," Sarah smiled, then frowned a little when the girl was still screeching. Since she seemed okay otherwise, Sarah was sure she had just been scared. She knew what would help. She touched the little girl's back with a smile, "Hey, uh…"

"Her name is Ciara," the woman said. "I'm Claire."

"Hey, Ciara," Sarah smiled, "Do you like magic?"

Ciara's screams slowed for a moment as she nodded her head.

"That's really good, because my friend here is the amazing Presto Change-O."

"Who that?" Ciara asked and Sarah gasped.

"You mean you don't know the amazing Presto Change-O? Well, we have to change that. I'll bet, if you ask him real nice, he'll give you the best magic show you've ever seen, won't you, Presto?"

"Uh, yeah, I hope," Preston nodded his head. "Good thing I brought my magic jacket."

"So what do you say Ciara. Do you and your friends want to see a magic show?"

Ciara nodded her head and excitedly climbed out of her grandmother's arms. She gathered Ryan, Joe and Dylan and sat on a nearby park bench while Preston set up his show. Sarah watched them with a smile, but was suddenly wrapped in a tight hug by Claire.

"You're my hero," she said. "I just… oh my god, Ciara stopped breathing and all I could think about was going home to my wife and telling her I killed our granddaughter."

"Wife?" Sarah asked then shook her head. "Sorry, I mean… I just…"

"I know, sometimes it throws people off when they hear it," Claire said. "Especially when I just blurt it out like that. But hey, it's 2017. You have to be used to hearing it by now, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah," Sarah nodded her head. "Of course."

"Anyways, when Ciara was chocking, I just… froze, you know. You really saved us both back there."

"Like I said, I'm just glad I could help. And I'm glad she's okay."

"I didn't get your name," Claire said.

"Sarah," Sarah smiled and offered her hand. "That's my friend Preston doing the magic show."

"Sarah. I'll be sure to tell my daughter what you did. She's Silver Guardian, so if you ever need a favour or…"

"She's a Silver Guardian?"

"The one with the cat," Claire nodded. "She's been real busy with a case these past couple of days and since I have the vacation time anyways, I'm keeping the grandkids for a while. They love to play with Ryan and Dylan so it makes it easier on everyone."

"Gia is your daughter?" Sarah asked. "And Ciara's mom."

"You know Gia?"

Sarah smiled. "We've met."

"Then I'll be extra sure to pass the message along," Claire smiled, then gasped. "Oh my god! How did he do that?"

Sarah glanced over her shoulder to see Preston in the middle of a magic trick and chuckled, "Magic."

"He's really good," Claire said. "Mind if I go watch?"

"Mind if I tag along," Sarah chuckled and she and Claire took a seat in the grass to watch Preston's show.


	7. Making Headlines

A printout of a web article fell on Kelly's homework as she worked in the cafeteria. She read the headline and smiled.

"You're kidding."

"Both pled guilty," Sarah said. "They caught a bit of a break for it, which I don't think they deserved, but it means no trial and they're both still in a lot of trouble."

Kelly smiled to hear this. While it had disappointed her that there was nothing that could be done to her dad, since he was free to voice his opinions and since there was no real proof that he was the reason the boys attacked Sarah, he was off the hook. However, it pleased Kelly to no end to see that the boys who had attacked Sarah were paying for their crime.

"It all worked out," Kelly smiled and Sarah sat down next to her. Kelly reached out to take her hand and Sarah pulled back a little bit. "Hey, it's fine here."

Kelly felt frustrated by this, but she knew it wasn't Sarah's fault. Growing up in an accepting household, Sarah never had to worry about hiding her feelings. She was free to be who she was. The school, apart from some students, was also a safe place. Still, Kelly remembered feeling like the world was against her while she had been living with her parents. It would be some time still before Sarah would be able to let that feeling go.

Trusting her girlfriend, Sarah took her hand and leaned in for a quick kiss.

"Okay, now I see what all the fuss is about," Calvin said as he sat down with Hayley. "It is gross to watch."

"Consider it payback," Sarah smiled as she showed Calvin and Hayley the article.

"That's good news," Hayley smiled. "If this is what they got as part of a deal, I'd hate to see what would have happened to them had this gone to trial."

"I heard the lawyer talking," Sarah said. "I kind of wish it did go to trial."

"People are going to realize they can't get away with all this hate," Hayley assured Sarah with a smile. "I know Principal Hastings is furious with what happened. She's going to call a school assembly this afternoon to talk about it."

"Dad was mentioning how he considered going to a barbecue the city was hosting for gay pride," Calvin said. "It should be a good turnout, from what he's saying."

"People stand up for this stuff," Hayley said. "It won't be long now before this whole thing blows over. Until then, don't let it freak you out."

"Yeah, we've got your back," Calvin smiled.

"You'll never guess what I saw on my way here," Brody announced as he sat down. He had in his hands a newspaper. He set it down on the table, showing the others the front cover. "Local Hero Saves Child."

"Hey, that's Preston," Kelly said and took the paper from the table to read it. "Pictured above, local Magician Presto Change-O wows young fans in a show just moments after hero Sarah Thompson (in pink) saves three-year-old from choking."

"That's great for Preston," Sarah smiled.

"Uh, this is great for you," Kelly continued to read. "According to the child's grandmother, Thompson and her friend Preston Tien were in the park when the child began to choke. When the grandmother called for help, Thompson responded, dislodging a rock from the child's throat, allowing her to breath. While the child will remain nameless, she is closely related to the Silver Guardian who has aided Thompson with two recent high profile cases. This link wasn't discovered until after the heroic action took place, proving that kindness does, in fact, get repaid with more kindness. Continued on page three."

Kelly flipped to the next page and saw that the article just went into more detail on Sarah's past cases with the Silver Guardians. She opted not to read it, since the Rangers and Sarah were already very familiar with it.

"Well, a little good news to brighten up the day," Kelly smiled and wrapped her arms around Sarah. "Look at you, a real, _recognized_ hero!"

"It wasn't a big deal," Sarah shrugged. "I just did what I had to do."

"Well, I think we should…" Calvin was cut off as the ground startled to tremble. It wasn't unusual in California, but it would always occur suddenly and so the Rangers were a little startled. When it settled, they looked around to be sure everyone was okay. Calvin spoke, "Like I was saying, we should celebrate. Ice-cream?" Calvin asked and looked to Sarah. "After school, what if we all head down there?"

Sarah hadn't been for ice-cream since Kelly's father had written the article, which was rather unusual. It was hers and Kelly's meeting place after training, yet Sarah had come up with some excuses to avoid it. She had mentioned once to Kelly that she was still a little worried about running into the wrong person there. Kelly had then mentioned it to Calvin, in hopes that if she and Sarah could double date with Calvin and Hayley, Sarah wouldn't feel as nervous.

"I've been craving ice-cream," Sarah nodded. "Anyone else?"

"I'm getting a double scoop," Kelly agreed.


End file.
